Pine Bark for Brain Health

Posted 26 March 2015 12:00 AM by Healthspan

According to National Center for Biotechnology Information, the average attention span in America has apparently fallen from 12 seconds at the beginning of the century to just 8 seconds by 2013. The sad thing is that the attention span of a gold fish is apparently greater at 9 seconds!

However, if you feel less mentally perky than your pet fish, you could try taking Pycnogenol supplements. A study involving 59 volunteers, aged 35 to 55, claim that bark extracts from the French maritime pine can help to reduce this decline. They were split into two groups, one of whom took Pycnogenol (50mg three times a day) while the other took an inactive placebo. All those taking part were also asked to follow a ‘controlled health plan’ which involved regular sleep, balanced meals and daily exercise. After 12 weeks, those taking the Pycnogenol showed an improvement in mental performance (8.9% compared with 3.1% in those following the healthy living plan alone) and a 13.4% increase in their advanced sustained attention span. They also felt better in themselves, with less anxiety and more contentment. Probably because their pet goldfish was no longer so distracting.